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Drum roll please… [#SWMusicLit WINNER ANNOUNCE!]

I knew after the first few minutes on Friday evening that this event was going to be something special. Startup Weekend always attracts the most interesting, creative and genuinely lovely people. And this event was no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of every single one of the 27 attendees, 7 coaches, 5 judges, 3 organisers and 6 volunteers. Absolute stars, every one of you.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Such energy in the room right from the beginning![/caption]

If you've been following along on the hashtag, you may have already 'OverHear'd (hehe) who the winners are. But if not... here's the Leaderboard.

SANTANDER UNIVERSITIES OVERALL WINNER

Over Hear

A website which simplifies finding and attending gigs and music events

TUoS MOST DISRUPTIVE MUSIC STARTUP

Over Hear

A website which simplifies finding and attending gigs and music events

TUoS MOST DISRUPTIVE LITERATURE STARTUP

Bookify

All you can eat audiobook streaming

INVENTURE E-COMMERCE STARTUP

ScoreHub

Compare the Market for sheet music

PEOPLE'S FAVOURITE

Bookify

All you can eat audiobook streaming

All three of these teams had solid presentations, got out of the building and spoke to their potential customers and users and built something workable that people would not only want, but would pay for. They offer real value propositions that solve real problems and meet real needs in the music and literature industries.

Some have mightier mountains to climb than others. Bookify would essentially be taking on Audible (Amazon) and OverHear would be taking on the likes of EventBrite and Skiddle. But you have to admire the tenaciousness and audacity. A refreshing can-do attitude from some amazing teams.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="143"] Research Path: A platform for efficient and organized research paper writing[/caption]

This group more than almost any Startup Weekend cohort I can remember was more than up for all the silliness I had in store for them, really getting into the fun and energetic spirit of Startup Weekend. And here are the photos to prove it.